Windows: It’s over, tech site declares

[Juan Wei]

Ken Blake has written on 4/17/2013 2:25 PM:

If you are interested, you can have a land line for free these days
(at least in the US). I use Google Voice with an OBi100 device ($39.24
at Amazon.com). It's VoIP, works just fine, gives me local and long
distance coverage all over the USA, and costs zero dollars per month.

I wouldn't call VoIP a landline. What happens when your ISP goes down,
as in Superstorm Sandy?

When that hit here, people with Comcast bundled service were SOL for 4 days.

I have Verizon DSL and that and my Verizon landline were untouched.

I suppose that if I had VoIP, it would go over my DSL?

Google is thinking of disabling GV, I heard.

 

[Ken Blake]

Ken Blake has written on 4/17/2013 2:25 PM:

I wouldn't call VoIP a landline.

Your choice of course, but I certainly would call it that .It uses a
plugged-in telephone, not one I carry in my pocket, and it's therefore
a land line to me.

I don't know for sure, but I would expect the great majority of people
to agree with me.

What happens when your ISP goes down,
as in Superstorm Sandy?

I would have to rely on using my cell phone instead of my land line.
And exactly the same thing is true whether my land line is VoIP or the
local telephone company. Either one can go down.

Google is thinking of disabling GV, I heard.

I haven't heard that, but it certainly is possible. Or they might keep
it, and start charging for it. I was aware of both possibilities when
I starting with it. If either happens, I'll have to go to another
service--either the local telephone company, or more likely a
different VoIP service (Vonage again or Comcast), whatever makes the
most economic sense.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

[]

I wouldn't call VoIP a landline.

Nor would I. VoIP - voice over internet protocol, I think - can be over
any internet connection: ADSL (or similar) provided over copper or fibre
(to a MoDem to which you can connect with or without wire), or a
wireless - cellular - via dongle, fobile (cellphone), or whatever.

Your choice of course, but I certainly would call it that .It uses a
plugged-in telephone, not one I carry in my pocket, and it's therefore
a land line to me.

But what it's plugged into doesn't have to be a real line at all.

I don't know for sure, but I would expect the great majority of people
to agree with me.

The GMOP don't know too much about technological matters at all, so it
wouldn't be a matter of them "agreeing" or not.

 

[Roy Smith]

I pay £15 per month, roughly, and I get unlimited calls, unlimited
texts, and 750 Meg of data for that. As I don't stream much, that suits
me. For the same £15 quid, I can get, IIRC, 5 Gig of data, which
normally arrives a bit faster than the stuff through my landline..
If ever I have to choose, it's the landline that will go first.

Landline, what's that? I haven't had one for over 8 years now...


--

Roy Smith
Windows 8 64-Bit
Thunderbird 17.0.5
Friday, April 19, 2013 1:47:04 PM

 

[...winston]

"Ken Blake" wrote in message Your choice of course, but I certainly would call it that .It uses a
plugged-in telephone, not one I carry in my pocket, and it's therefore
a land line to me.

I don't know for sure, but I would expect the great majority of people
to agree with me.
<qp>
VOIP Calls
Voice over IP is the standard method for voice communications over the Internet, used by popular applications such as Skype, Vonage
and ViaTalk. These services allow you to use your computer or Internet connection to place and receive phone calls. Your voice is
transmitted over the Internet instead of through the traditional hard lines installed in homes and businesses. VoIP has features
that are similar to landlines, but also many differences that keep it in a class of its own.

Internet-Dependent Calls
The calls you place on a VoIP phone are converted to a data stream and transmitted over your existing high-speed Internet
connection. Depending on how your service is set up, you may need to have your computer turned on to place calls. Some services
supply a box that connects directly to your cable modem. Regardless of the connection type, calls will not work if Internet service
is disrupted or slowed.
</qp>

 

[Paul]

Your choice of course, but I certainly would call it that .It uses a
plugged-in telephone, not one I carry in my pocket, and it's therefore
a land line to me.

I don't know for sure, but I would expect the great majority of people
to agree with me.

To me, a landline is a direct copper connection to a central facility,
where the central facility distributes a reliable source of power to
make it work. No other competing solution offers that.

Home End Central End
POTS Telephony No power needed Batteries/Generator (tested and working)
VOIP over ADSL Power needed Remote DSLAM may not have backups
VOIP over cable Power needed Cable system probably isn't fully backed up
Cellphone Cell batteries Cell Towers don't always have generators

When we had a major power failure here, all the nuclear powered generating
stations tripped, none of the cellphones worked. Lots of people
were borrowing my old fashioned phone, to make calls. The outage lasted
for days. I always had dialtone during that period. POTS may cost $50 per month,
when other solutions cost $30, but it has some features you cannot match.

The Central Office uses batteries (used to send -48V over the
telephone wires). The batteries are sized to last at
least a day. Diesel generators take over before the batteries run out.
In addition, I've also seen truck mounted 2000HP generators
used, while there is site maintenance at the Central Office
(both my local CO, and the CO downtown).

Even when providers build a patchwork quilt to try to match
POTS, they aren't always successful. There have been cases,
where an alternative service claimed to support 911, only
to have a case arise where someone couldn't get help, because
they couldn't (successfully) figure out where they were.

Imagine the following scenario.

1) There is an electrical fire.
2) You race downstairs and turn off the power.
3) You race upstairs... and you can't make that VOIP call.

If I do that here, even in total darkness inside the house,
I can still make that all-important telephone call.

A Cellphone can match that, and gradually cellphones are
becoming every bit as good as POTS. But the VOIP solutions
have a long way to go. Nobody mandates that your
VOIP solution will work when you need it most. It's
up to you, to ash the question of your VOIP provider,
then follow up by googling for horror stories.

Paul

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

1) There is an electrical fire.
2) You race downstairs and turn off the power.
3) You race upstairs... and you can't make that VOIP call.

If I do that here, even in total darkness inside the house,
I can still make that all-important telephone call.

I can too if the battery in my modem is good and if the provider hasn't
gone down. The battery is kept charged and is good for a few hours, so
in the above scenario I'd be OK.

Except when we had a six-hour power failure a week or two ago, the
provider's service also went out, and it stayed out for an hour or so
after the power was restored. By "went out", I mean no Internet, no
phone, no TV.

This customer wasn't totally pleased

BTW, the cell phone was still good.

 

[gufus]

Home End Central End
POTS Telephony No power needed Batteries/Generator (tested and working)

In the Fidonet days "POTS" was refereed as

Plain old telephony system

BTY, I still run a Fidonet BBS (Gypsy BBS)

 

[Larry__Weiss]

...
BTY, I still run a Fidonet BBS (Gypsy BBS)

I loved Fidonet, back in the day, although in some ways it doesn't seem that long ago.

 

[gufus]

I loved Fidonet, back in the day, although in some ways it doesn't seem that long ago.

It's still alive (well it's mostly sysop's)

 

[Steve Hayes]

Your choice of course, but I certainly would call it that .It uses a
plugged-in telephone, not one I carry in my pocket, and it's therefore
a land line to me.

I thought VoIP referred to things like Skype.

 

[Top]

In the Fidonet days "POTS" was refereed as

Plain old telephony system

BTY, I still run a Fidonet BBS (Gypsy BBS)

What is your node number? Many years ago mine was 360/4. Those were the
days!

Ed

 

[Lemon]

And that's why I stick with "legacy" versions of Windows.

I want a computer that does useful things that make my life easier for me, not
an expensive toy that makes meaningless patterns on screen.

Well, if it anything to you, Windows 7 is supported until 2020.
Furthermore, with so much negative feedback, and refusals to buy, and
general all-round rejection, and even Lenovo calling Metro "waterboard
torture" for its customers, I figure Windows 9 might turn out to be
something people like.

I hope so.

Lemon

 

[Lemon]

Landline, what's that? I haven't had one for over 8 years now...

I've yet to get myself a cell phone, lol. I have a rotary within ~ten
feet of me right now.

Lemon

 

[Paul]

Well, if it anything to you, Windows 7 is supported until 2020.
Furthermore, with so much negative feedback, and refusals to buy, and
general all-round rejection, and even Lenovo calling Metro "waterboard
torture" for its customers, I figure Windows 9 might turn out to be
something people like.

I hope so.

Lemon

There are financial drivers for Metro. It's part of a business plan.

It won't be disappearing.

*******

Metro appearance changes with screen size.

If you have a single monitor, less than 1366 pixels wide,
Metro takes up the entire screen.

If you have a single monitor, and it is wider than 1366 pixels
(like, a 1920x1080 monitor), then you can "snap" a second
app next to the primary application.

If you have two monitors, it's possible to have one screen
do "Metro" and one screen do the legacy desktop. Where you
could copy and paste to your satisfaction.

This doesn't really change the issue though, that it's Metro.

*******

The only "advancement" of the next Windows, is it is scheduled
to be subscription based. Again, part of a business model.

Paul

 

[Ashton Crusher]

Published April 16, 2013

"Calling the latest operating system a “failure” and Microsoft’s leaders
“idiots,” a top tech website has proclaimed the PC era over. Windows is
coming to a dead end, they say."

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/04/16/windows-its-over-tech-site-declares/?intcmp=features


I don't believe the PC era is over, but I do believe the statement that
Microsoft's leaders are idiots. They had the opportunity to please all
users, and chose not to.

I suspect Microsoft will be around long after the tech site is gone.

 

[stones]

There are financial drivers for Metro. It's part of a business plan.

It won't be disappearing.

It's worse than that. More and more websites seem to be redesigning to
imitate Metro. I'd hoped to avoid it by sticking with Windows 7. Now it
looks like that won't be happening.

 

[Darklight]

If the time comes that the Windows Desktop is no longer functional, I
will just go to a Linux OS. Libre Office works as well as MS Office and
most of my applications, or equivalent, are already available in Linux.
So, I don't foresee a future problem regardless what MS does. We are
not dependent on the whims of Microsoft. I'm just not inclined to learn
another OS until absolutely necessary. I doubt that time will come in
my functional lifetime.

There's nothing wrong with the metro interface. It is just a full screen
customizable start menu. If you can't see that you are nothing
more than a left right click monkey!

You can switch from the desktop to the metro interface just by pressing
the windows key. In windows 7 you can open the start menu by pressing
the windows key.

Are you people that thick you can't see it.

Apart from the metro interface there ain't much difference between win7
and win8.

Question how many mouse clicks does it take to shut down windows 7?
Question how many mouse clicks does it take to shut down windows 8?

I can shut down win 7 and 8 with 1 mouse click restart win 7 and 8
with one mouse click, log out with 1 mouse click.

Don't blame the OS for you own incompetence or laziness to learn!

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Darklight:

You can switch from the desktop to the metro interface just by pressing
the windows key. In windows 7 you can open the start menu by pressing
the windows key.

Are you people that thick you can't see it.

I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but I do make a living doing
application development.

With the half-dozen or so Windows 8 tablets I tried at Best Buy and
Micro Age, I could not bring up a desktop interface that was the same as
my Windows 7/Classic or Windows XP interfaces - and I asked a couple of
the sales staff too.

Main things that were missing: the "Start" button and the "Programs"
menu.

Not to beat it to death, but if I go back there and press the Windows
Key, should I see "Start" and "Programs"?

 

[Paul]

Per Darklight:

I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but I do make a living doing
application development.

With the half-dozen or so Windows 8 tablets I tried at Best Buy and
Micro Age, I could not bring up a desktop interface that was the same as
my Windows 7/Classic or Windows XP interfaces - and I asked a couple of
the sales staff too.

Main things that were missing: the "Start" button and the "Programs"
menu.

Not to beat it to death, but if I go back there and press the Windows
Key, should I see "Start" and "Programs"?

You get that with add-on software, such as ClassicShell or Start8.

Windows 8 has a Start screen, rather than a Program Menu, by default.
You type in the Start screen, and a search finds your program.

The Metro interface is similar to other Microsoft software implementations,
in that not only is there a primary purpose for the software, but the
Metro engine can be used for rendering other parts of the GUI. If you
were to disable the engine, the Metro tiles would certainly go away,
but so would a few other things. To neuter Metro, takes a lot more
care (selective programmatic solution, rather than a nuclear option).

The free ClassicShell, is proof things can be repaired. But if you
were thinking the next Windows might implement ClassicShell style
in some way, forget it. That would be an admission Windows 8 was
a mistake. You won't see such an admission. Merely soldier ahead
in the wrong direction.

Paul